Art of preparing fatty-acid compounds.



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JOHN WILLIAM BLAGDEN, MANNHEIM, AND RICHARD MULLER, OF EILENBURG, GERMANY. ASSIGNORS TO G. F. BOEHRINGER & SOEHNE, 0F MANNHEIMEWALDHOF GERMANY, A FIRM.

ART OF PREPARING FATTY-ACID COMPOUNDS.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that We, JOHN W. BLAGDEN and Rionxnn M'I'iLLER, citizens of the British Empire and the German Em ire, respectively, residing at Mannheim and Eilenburg, Saxon Prussia, Germany, respectively, have invented certain newand useful Tmproi'ements in the Art of Preparing Fatty-Acid Compounds; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make and use the same. 7

This invention relates to fatty compositions to be employed for the manufacture of candles, night-lights and the like and processes of making the same; and consists in high melting fatty compositions viz. ammonia derivatives of acid fatty bodies, and in a process of making such derivatives com prising the treatment of acid fatty bodies with ammonia, and the subsequent removal of impurities, excess of solvent. fatty acid, etc., and a certain amount of the absorbed ammonia and alteration of such treated bodies by exposure to conditions all as more fully hereinafter described and as claimed.

Very little is known as to the ammonia salts of the higher fatty acids, such salts being generally described as soapy bodies which gradually decompose into ammonia and the original fatty acid. In our work upon these bodies we ha vc found that these ammonia soaps by treatment under certain regulated circumstam'cs can be obtained as stable bodies useful in the arts; such bodies being of higher melting point than the original fatty acid. stable under atmospheric t-ondit ions and burning without evolution of ammonia or other injurious gases. Such bodies are consequently well adapted for making candles and night-lights. They may excess of solvent, fatty acid or other im-' purity and carefully dried, lose ammonia, till permanent bodies are formed. These products do not correspond to any very definite chemical compound, the ratio between the fipeeifiestion of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 28, 1907. Serial No. 399.590.

Patented A ug. 15, 1911.

ammonia group. and .the fatty acid group varying with the conditions of preparations, and though this ratio frequently corresponds to that of an acid salt, this is not always the case. If after removing impurities the dry- .ing be performed in a vacuum desiccator at about 15 C.-. for some days. a product is obtained which is perfectly stable and unchanged in air.

Any-of the commercial acid fatty bodies may be" treated in the described manner with the described advantages of raising the melting point and preparing more waxy bodies. ()leic acid. for instance, may be made solid and given a relatively high melting point. A preparation made in the described manner from liquid oleic acid and containing nitrogen equivalent to 2.85 per cent. of NH, showed a melting point of 56 (1. while another. prepared under somewhat different conditions and containing nitrogen equivalent to 3.88 per cent. of NH had a melting point of 60 C. On still further raising the nitrogen content to the equivalent of about 1.20 per cent. NH, the product had a melting point of about 75 C. Elaidic acid. which normally melts at about 33. under the described treatment gave a product containing nitrogen equivalent to about 3.30 per cent. of NH and of a melting point of about 70 C.

Stcaric acid. melting at C.. under the described treatment gave a solid waxy product containing nitrogenequivalent to 3.80 per cent. NH, and melting at about 87.' l lrucic acid, which melts at 32, gave a product. with nitrogen corresponding to 23.60 per cent. NH, and a melting point of about 52 C.

The ammonia and thefatty acid should be brought together in a condition as dry as possible since the presence of moisture tends to diminish the stability of the products and increases the ditlicultics of puriliation.

()ne convenient way of obtaining a typical product fwm oleic acid is to dissolve a suit-- able quantity of oleic acid in a hydrocarbon,

such as petroleum and lead ammonia gas into the cooled solution until a. certain prothen filtered off, freed from the solvent by pressing,etc., and dried to constant weight.

In the. drying operation, the amount given by the stated quantities of materials may be exposed in thin layers on trays to a low temperature of about 25 C. for about 48 hours under a vacuum of 29 inches. The resulting product will contain nitrogen equivalent to about- 3 per cent. ammonia, will be permanent in air and will form an excellent candle material, either alone or in admixture with ordinary fats and waxes. The same quantity of stearic acidtreated in the same way will give a waxy product containing nitrogen equivalent to about 3% per cent.

" gmmonia and having a melting point of about 87 C.

.Tlae oleic acid product may be melted with 1 or 2 parts ofstearin or other fats or waxes to give a good-candle material.

Inall the described products, the new fatty body obtained is of higher melting point than the originalacid fatty body, is

colorless where the original acid was colorless, 1s of a waxy consistency, 1s anhydrous or free from water, is permanent in air,

burns without evolution of -ammoniacal' gases, and contains firmly combined nitrogen in amount less than would correspond to a neutral ammonia salt of the acid treated.

The compound may be obtained in the form of a white powder if the original substance is colorless. It is quite insoluble in ether and'it may, therefore, be purified by washing with ether, thereby removing excess of acid.

It has heretofore been proposed to mix fat-s or fatty acids with ammonia under pressure and at high temperatures varying between 150 and 250 centigrade. Under these conditions only the amids can be produced and not the ammonia" salts of the fatty acids. Our process, whose object it is to obtain such ammonia salts, is distinguished from the so proposed process by the fact that it is carried out at temperatures below 100 centigrade, that is, below the temperature at which glycerin is distilled in practice. Only under these conditions can our new product be obtained.

Havin thus fully described our invention, what we claim is: p

1. In the art of making fatty acid compounds, the process which consists in treating a fatty acid, at a temperature below 100 centigrade, 'with ammonia and subject- "ing the mixture thus formed to mechanical pressure to remove the excess of solvent or, liquid 1mpur1t1es.

2. In the art of making fatty acid compounds, the process which consists in mixing a fatty acid, at a temperature below 100 centigrade, with ammonia, subjecting the mixture to mechanical pressure and also to evaporative conditions at a temperature below the distilling temperature of glycerin to eliminate the excess of solvent or of liquid impurities and a portion of.the ammonia.

3. In the art of making fatty acid compounds, the process which consists in intro-' ducing dry ammonia gas into a cooled fatty acid and subjecting the resulting mixture to pressure and to evaporative conditions at a temperature below 100 centigrade.

4.'The proces's'which consists in dissolving a fatty acid in ahydrocarbon and cooling the resultant solution, treating the solution with ammonia gas, and subjecting this mixture to pressure, and then drying in vacuo, and at a temperature below 100 centigrade, to remove the excess of solvent or 6. As a new composition of matter, the

combustible stable anhydrous compound of a fatty acid with ammonia, said compound having a higher melting point than the component fatty acid, evolving no ammon'iacal' vapors on combustion and insoluble in ether.

7. As a new composition of matter, the dry combustible stable anhydrous'compound of a fatty acid with ammonia, said compound having a higher melting point than the component fatty acid, evolving no ammoniacal vapors on combustion and insoluble in ether and in which the percentage of ammonia is not raised when washing the compound with a solvent for fatty acid.

In testimony whereof we hereunto affix our signatures, each in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN WILLIAM BLAGDEN. RICHARD MULLER. Witnesses as to the signature of John W. Blagden:

J 05. H. LEUTE, N. R. SHANK.

Witnesses as to the signature of Richard Miiller:

RUDOLPH FRIGKE, SQUTIIARD P. WARNER. 

